September 28th, 2007

(no subject) @ 01:22 pm

Right now, the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs have the same record, 83-76.

The Braves are in third place, four games out in the NL East with three to play, and in fifth place five games back in the Wild Card race. It'll take a miracle for the Braves to make the playoffs.

The Cubs, on the other hand, are in first place in the NL Central, two up on Milwaukee with three to go and a Magic Number of two (that means any combination of Cub wins and Brewer losses put the Cubs in the playoffs).

I'm from Chicago originally. I was a White Sox fan when I lived there (and to this day). I've been a Braves fan since moving to Atlanta twenty years ago. In short, I HATE the Cubs. The fact that they're the likely winners of the NL Central REALLY sticks in my craw, and the fact that the Braves have the same record and will probably have to go home on Sunday REALLY, REALLY sticks in my craw.

The Cubs are playing the Florida Marlins (69-90, in last place in the NL East) this weekend. The Brewers are playing the San Diego Padres (88-71, 1 game out in the NL west and currently the favorite to win the NL Wild Card). If there is justice in the world, the Marlins will sweep the Cubs, the Brewers will sweep San Diego, the Braves will sweep the Astros and everyone in front of them will get swept so the Braves get into the playoffs.

How likely is it that will happen? A snowball has a better chance in Hell.

Interesting thing: when I was a kid in the Sixties and Seventies, there was a league rule that players couldn't sign autographs or toss balls into the stands. I think it was after the strike in 1993 that they changed that and encouraged players to throw balls into the stands for the fans and sign autographs. Probably backlash from the strike.

As for being worthy role models, some of the greatest players were not the kinds of people you wanted your kids to emulate. Mickey Mantle was one of many alcoholics, lots of players were sleeping around, and during the Sixties and Seventies many of them were taking speed. Jim Bouton blew the cover off of a lot of that in his book, Ball Four. Oddly enough, that was the book that made me more of a baseball fan, because it gave a more realistic picture of the players and just how difficult to have your friends sent down or traded, how tiring life on the road is and the effect that these things have on your family life.

Nevertheless, there are some players that are good role models as well. Atlanta has Tim Hudson, Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann and, despite their marital problems, John Smoltz and Chipper Jones. The White Sox have Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome. Those are just two teams I'm familiar with. The problem, of course, is that you have a Barry Steroids that's the most visible...